Most television viewers now receive their video signals through a content aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. Digital video broadcasting (DVB) systems, such as satellite systems, are generally known. A DVB system that delivers video service to a home will usually include a video services receiver, system, or device, which is commonly known as a set-top box (STB). In the typical instance, encoded television signals are sent via a cable or wireless data link to the viewer's home, where the signals are ultimately decoded in the STB. The decoded signals can then be viewed on a television or other appropriate display as desired by the viewer.
A practical implementation of an STB may include or cooperate with a digital video recorder (DVR), a time shift buffer, and/or any convenient recording function that is designed to record video, audio, and/or audiovisual programs received by the STB. The user can then play recorded programs at any convenient time. Moreover, a conventional STB can generate a menu or listing of recorded programs for graphical rendering on a display device, such as a television or a monitor. The user can navigate an onscreen listing of recorded programs to identify or select a program for playback, to delete recorded content, etc.
Although modern STBs allow users to schedule the recording of program events (such as favorite broadcast programs), a given user may forget to schedule a recording or may have reasons to not schedule the recording of all favorite content. In certain situations, a user may be watching a different channel or a live sporting event that runs into overtime, such that the user misses the beginning of a favorite program. If recording of that program has not been scheduled, then the user will be inconvenienced. There may be other situations where one or more favorite program events could be missed (if recording has not been previously configured).
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a methodology for automatically determining that a user might be missing the beginning of a favorite program and, in response to the determination, automatically initiating the recording or buffering of the favorite program. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.